Voice of the Community

TAX DOLLARS FOR NEW DRUGS

Editor:

Did you know that a certain percentage of your tax dollars go to drug companies for research and development of new drugs to cure diseases and ailments. This money pays the scientist and lab personal while they are hoping for the big break through.

Research and development monies is the best spent tax dollars our country spends. It has kept us on the leading edge of the scientific world. But this or that company may never invent anything useful for the money spent, which is OK because the scientists who are trying their best to come up with a good drug or widget need to earn a living wage.

But the kicker is that when a company has a scientist that develops something big they want to rape the American citizen with astronomical costs for research and development of the end product.

We as taxpayers should only pay for manufacturing of the end item. The scientist should get a compensation perk but not the company because we have been paying their scientists their wages all along. So we as tax payers should hammer our elected officials into bringing this disparity of paying double on any end item our tax dollars paid research and development for. Some bodies are getting one hell of a kick back from these drug companies to pull the crap they are pulling and getting by with it.

Don’t come up with discussion of overhead because they don’t have any. That is a viable argument.

Bob Snider

Fallon

Legal pot not helping education

Editor:

The recent letter to the editor correctly makes the point that Nevada ‘s school system has the lowest scores nationally and is ranked last in education by Education Week, while Massachusetts schools are rated best of all the states.

Last November, both Nevada and Massachusetts voters passed marijuana industry-written initiatives to legalize commercial pot. In both states, a one year period was provided for state government to develop their commercial recreational marijuana program, including regulations that would be careful, prudent and responsible.

In the name of “educational funding”, Nevada politicians and the marijuana industry have entered into an “unholy alliance” to heedlessly rush the process. An “Early Start” program is now set to begin on July 1, 2017 without adequate preparation. “Light one up for the kids,” appears to be our new state motto.

Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, the state legislature and Gov. Baker, citing the myriad complexities of legalization, including a fundamental conflict with federal law, have extended their “first sale” deadline to 18 months. Massachusetts will not have commercial sales begin until July 1, 2018, ­— a full year after the Nevada start date. Massachusetts legislators were not impressed with the “new money for education” argument and vowed to “get it right” on prudent implementation.

Nevada’s linking educational funding to legalizing recreational marijuana use is a strange anomaly. In Colorado, marijuana use among youths 12-17 increased 20 percent after legalization — making it #1 in the nation.

Marijuana commercialization in Nevada may mean slightly more money for education, but kids will be demonstrably less able to learn and more subject to becoming school dropouts.

As Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong cautioned: “We’re coming in too fast, too high, too hard, and we don’t really know what we’re doing”. Colorado and California followed a one-year policy on “first sale” — so should Nevada.

Jim Hartman

President of Nevadans for Responsible Drug Policy.

Where is Robin Hood?

Editor:

If there ever was a Robin Hood we all need him now!

How do our elected officials justify drafting a new healthcare plan that will cost us elderly and the low income hundreds of dollars more but doesn’t affect themselves or their rich cronies?

It seems like the we always get the short end of the stick, but let’s make sure we get that “wall” built!

They are protecting the insurance companies instead of the people that need help. They don’t care because all their benefits are paid for by our taxes. We all need to stand up and say we aren’t going to take it anymore and vote them out next time!

Dennis Ormond

Dayton